WestJet’s top executive said the decision to integrate Sunwing Airlines and Swoop into the airline’s main business will drive efficiency across the company, and will not reduce competition in Canada’s air travel industry.
News broke last week that WestJet is planning to integrate Sunwing Airlines into its main business over the course of two years in order to streamline operations. Earlier this month, WestJet said it will cease Swoop operations by the end of October while bringing the budget airline into the primary carrier.
The developments have prompted concern about reduced competition in the industry. But Alexis von Hoensbroech, the WestJet chief executive officer, said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Wednesday that the integrations will not affect competition because Sunwing and Swoop are already part of the WestJet group.
“They cooperate and they don't compete with each other,” he said. “This movement itself is creating more scale, but does not reduce any competition.”
There are currently two business units operating under the Sunwing brand, Sunwing Vacations, which offers travel packages to Canadians and Sunwing Airlines. Von Hoensbroech said the travel package business will continue to operate as a separate business unit, while the airline will be integrated into WestJet’s larger operations.
The move will “create more scale,” von Hoensbroech said, as vacation packages from Sunwing will be available to “every community that we can reach with all the 180 airplanes that we operate through the WestJet Group.”
As WestJet integrates SunWing and Swoop into its business, von Hoensbroech said the collective group will have to work under one airline operating certificate.
He said this would allow “all of our crews to be able to fly all of our planes,” while also creating resiliency across the business.
AIRFARES
Some experts believe the move toward consolidation in Canada’s airline industry will lead to higher prices for consumers.
However, in a separate interview with The Canadian Press, von Hoensbroech said integration with Swoop and Sunwing Airlines won’t drive ticket prices higher.
"I don't think this will mean higher fares," von Hoensbroech said.
"With the scale, we will actually be able to operate more efficiently and also more reliably, because if something goes wrong, if it's a small airline then it's far more difficult for them to recover," he said.
SUMMER TRAVEL
Amid the summer travel season, von Hoensbroech said it will be smoother than the previous year, which was “the first post-pandemic summer.”
“Now I think everyone did his homework, everyone is staffed up, so we feel very confident, fingers crossed, that nothing unexpected is happening,” he said.
With files from the Canadian Press
